


Trapped

by Yuulina_vre



Series: Little Supersoldiers [44]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Angst, Crying, Cuddling & Snuggling, Dreams and Nightmares, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Explosions, F/M, Family, Family Feels, Fluff and Angst, Guilt, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Fic, Kid Steve, Kid Steve Rogers, M/M, Nightmares, Parent Bucky, Parent Bucky Barnes, Parenthood, Pneumonia, Protective Bucky Barnes, Protective Steve Rogers, Protective Team, Protectiveness, Sick Character, Sickfic, Team as Family, Torture, Violence, Vomiting, dropping, protective Reader, sick reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:28:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22806337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yuulina_vre/pseuds/Yuulina_vre
Summary: There are explosions in the mall and Y/N and Steve get taken. Hopefully Bucky and the team manage to find them quickly.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers/Reader
Series: Little Supersoldiers [44]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1140365
Kudos: 37





	1. Hurt

**Author's Note:**

> This one is slightly different to the others in this series. I still hope you enjoy it. :D
> 
> Don't forget that I still take promts for this series and everything else ^^

“Steve, come on.”

“Yeah, I’m coming. I’m coming. Stop running.”

“I’m not really running. It’s cold and you’re just walking at the speed of a snake.”

“Oh! Rude.” Steve playfully glares at Y/N while she only smiles and continues her way through the parking lot to her car. Technically, it’s Tony’s car, but he said she could take it whenever she likes, so it’s her car for now. She’s grocery shopping with Steve, so she picked a slightly more discreet one. Steve has to accompany her because he lost a bet and, of course, he’s carrying all the bags, too. “Care to tell me why we went shopping again? I thought FRIDAY takes care of it.”

“She does.”

“And why are we going then? Why are we here?” Y/N rolls her eyes at her boyfriend and turns around to face him. Steve is still grumbling. “Stevie…” Her voice is soft and her hands come up to cup his cheeks. “What’s so bad about going out and doing something all the other people need to do, even when we have an AI to do it for us?”

“… Nothing.”

“See. Besides, I brought some Christmas gifts as well and Tony would instantly know which one is his because he would look through FRIDAY’s shopping lists. Now, get your pretty ass to the car and put the bags down.” She leans in and kisses his lips. She lingers for a moment. She can feel Steve’s lips twitch and turn into a smile. “Okay.” His warm breath hits her lips, and she leans in to give him another small peck before she let’s go of him fully. Steve still manages to steal a third kiss as he steps past her to continue walking. Y/N doesn’t mind. As Steve walks past her she slaps him on the ass and earns an unexpected shriek from him. Y/N laughs and giggles but it stops abruptly. A Loud pang sounds through the parking lot. Everything is a bit too fast for her to fully process it. The sound is loud, like a gunshot. No, more of an explosion. “Y/N!” She briefly sees Steve who drops the bags and for a moment sighs in her head about the eggs and the yogurt. Then suddenly Steve is at her side, pulls her behind another car and to the ground to hide. “W-What-” She’s interrupted by another loud bang and glass that flies past her. Steve quickly guides her head into his chest to protect her and Y/N feels how she holds tight on Steve’s thick jacket. The bang triggers several car alarms, people start screaming, and she can hear the loud steps of people running past them. “Stay! Head down.” Steve holds her head tight to his chest as she tries to turn and to look. She feels how he slightly shifts and looks through the window of the car. “What is it? What’s this noise?”

“I don’t know. The windows of the mall are all shattered.” He turns to look at her and cups her cheek. “I’ll go and try to find out what’s happening. See if I can help. You need to stay here. Call Bucky or Tony.” He’s about to stand up but Y/N grabs his arms and pulls him back down. “What?! No!”

“Y/N, there might be people who need my help.”

“And? Let the police handle it for cone. Please. Just let’s go home.”

“Y/N…”

“No.” Y/N clings to him now. “When you go on missions, I can’t do anything about it. But here I can beg you to leave with me. Please, Steve. I don’t want to stay here alone.”

“Come on, Y/N. That’s-”

“No!” She interrupts him and leans her head against his chest. She must have looked more confident than she feels because Steve runs a nervous hand through his hair and sighs. “Okay, fine. We’ll go together. Stay close to me and try to reach Tony. When I tell you to run, you will! No exception.” He looks stern at her and she only nods. Then Steve grabs her hand tightly as the loud sound comes a third time. Steve gets up and looks around before he pulls Y/N to her feet. His grip tightens as they walk against the people running away from the mall. Y/N looks back to the car and feels suddenly very nervous. She fiddles with her other hand for her phone and dials Tony’s number.

Everything happens so fast. The call connects but the phone gets thrown out of Y/N’s hand as the bang comes a fourth time and a big hole gets ripped into the wall near them. Steve is too focused on the screaming people around them and suddenly Y/N can’t hold onto his hand anymore. Someone grips her shoulder tightly and she screams. “STEVE!” The blonde turns around but at that point she has a rag in front of her nose and mouth. She quickly starts to get dizzy. Desperately she tries to fight it. Steve fights against other people, too, and she can hear him scream her name. Far, far away she thinks she can hear Tony’s voice but then everything fades away into silence and blackness.

* * *

Y/N feels trapped. But it’s not the kind of trapped she knows from nightmares. Instead, it feels tight but warm. Her head feels heavy and her limps some kind of numb. She groans against the remaining fogginess in her head. Fingers stroke gently over her cheek and with as much strength as she can muster, she peels her eyes open. She’s met with a blurry vision of a blonde man that’s clearly Steve. “’eve?”

“Yeah. It’s me.” He caresses her cheek a bit more before he leans down to give her a kiss on the forehead. Only now does she notice that she’s lying on a dirty, cold floor. Her jacked is lost, and she feels a cold deep in her bones. Steve props her up to cradle her against his chest. He holds her close as if she might disappear if he loses his grip. “How are you, doll? Any injuries? Are you feeling sick? Headache?” He looks her over and Y/N is pretty sure that he did that already while she was unconscious. “Y-yeah. I’m good. Bit fuzzy.” She leans on him before she leans back again to look him over. “You?”

“No. I’m good.” Steve sighs and presses her head back against his shoulder to hold her close. He kisses her temple and lifts her off of the ground and onto his lap as she gets shaken by a cold shiver. “W-what happened?” Steve stiffens and looks down at her. “What do you remember?” Y/N thinks for a moment and shrugs. “There… were loud noises and then… someone pulled me away from you.” Steve nods and rubs his hand over her arm. “Yeah. HYDRA. They pulled off some explosions in the mall. They knew I was there and took their chance. I guess you’re just a bonus.” His voice is silent and hurt. Y/N knows that he always hoped to get her out of all these things after she got kidnapped. She wraps her arms around him and holds him close. Her eyes dart through the room. It looks like any ordinary cellar. No window, damp floor and walls and incredibly cold. The only exit she can see is a heavy looking metal door on the opposite wall. On the ceiling is a long neon light which actually gives still too little light for the whole room. “I’m sorry, doll.” His voice draws her gaze back to him. “I should have listened to you. We should have left as soon as we had could.”

“Hey.” She frames is face in her hands. “None of this. We can’t change it know. No matter what you say.” She kisses him on the cheek, and he gifts her a small-lipped smile. Then he leans in and kisses her temple and lingers there for a moment. “I promise I get you out of here.”

“Steve.”

“No! I get you out. You’re not supposed to be here. Never. I get you out!” His voice is determined and Y/N doesn’t want to say anything against it. She leans against his shoulder again and lets him hold her. Suddenly the door gets ripped open and several man step in. Y/N feels Steve tense, and she tries to cling to him while his hold tightens. No one says a word. A man comes close enough to grip Y/N’s arm tightly and all but rips her from Steve’s arms. “NOO! NO! Let me go! Steve!”

“Y/N! Let her go!” Y/N tries to reach for Steve while she struggles against the iron grip on her arm. Steve tries the same but his hands are already cuffed behind his back, and he’s flanked by two man. They shove him out of the room, ignoring her and his shouts. “Steve! No, please. Please!” As fast as they came in, their out again. With Steve. The man that holds Y/N pushes her away from him. She stumbles and hits her shoulder hard against the wall. When she turns around, she only sees the heavy door shut close. She’s alone. Tears jump into her eyes, and she doesn’t have the energy to hold them off. They fall freely as she sinks down on the wall. Knees to her chest with her arms tightly wrapped around them. She cries into the silence for a while until her eyes start to hurt. She rests her forehead on her knees and ties to ignore the fuzzy feeling in her head, the cold that’s so deep in her bones that she will need days to get warm again. The silence. The hurt, that Steve is gone. She even tries to ignore the thoughts of Bucky and Lady, who probably sit at home on the couch and either watch TV with the others as if nothing’s wrong or are freaking out because she and Steve are both gone. Tony probably connected the dots between the explosions and her call that never really got to him fully. They probably are all trying to figure out who's responsible for that, who took her and Steve and where they are now. At some point she’s tired and achy from sitting. She stands up and walks around the small room. She stops in front of the door and hammers against it. “Hey! Hello!”

She screams but gives up quickly. No one comes. There’s no sound. Nothing. She continues pacing and then sits down in a far-off corner from the door. She curls together. For once to try to stay warm and secondly to wallow in her loneliness, sadness and fear. She doesn’t know what they do with Steve. And she certainly doesn’t want to know what they are going to do with her when, whatever they want to do with Steve, doesn’t work. The only thing she knows is that it’s getting colder and colder.

It seems like hours passed until the door opens with a heavy sound. Y/N can hear footsteps, but she stays curled together. Only her sudden shivering spoilers that she’s awake, listening and very much afraid. Someone gets shoved in a pushed to the ground with a groan. Then the door closes again. Y/N waits a few seconds until she hears the groan again. She looks up and gasps. “Steve!” As fast as she can she scrambles up and runs to him, only to fall to her knees once again. Her hands hover over him for a moment before she carefully places one on his chest and the other on his cheek. “Y/N?” His voice is sluggish and slightly disorientated. “Yes. Yes, It’s me. Oh, god. Look at you.” Steve looks bad. Probably worse than it actually is but it’s bad enough for Y/N. He has blood on his clothes. Everywhere. She can see cuts on his hands, arms, legs and chest. He has a bright shining bruise on the left side of his face which must hurt a lot. She guesses that under his clothes she will find many other bruises like this one. “Stevie…”

“’m good.” His hand comes up to pat her shoulder reassuringly, but he fails and misses it. “You’re not.”

“Doll.” Y/N tears up again but Steve tries to pull her down to his side. She cuddles up to him as carefully as she dares and wipes some blood away from his face. The door opens again and Y/N twitches and looks to the door. Afraid that they come to take her, or worse, Steve again. But the guy that comes in only puts a tray down. Next to it, he throws a first air box and gestures to it. “Fix him up before he gets needed again.” His voice is cold and without emotion. Y/N shudders against the power in his voice. He glares at her and then turns around again and leaves. Y/N waits for the sound of the heavy lock before she extracts herself from Steve’s weak, but steadier grip to get the first aid kit. She gets it back to him and looks through the stuff in it. It’s not much but it will be enough. She carefully cleans the cuts all over Steve’s body, wraps up the deeper ones and gives him a cooling aid for the worst bruises. Then she reaches over and places a careful hand on his cheek while she tries to clean the blood from his forehead. Steve winces and Y/N cringes. “Doll…” Steve takes her hand in his and kisses her knuckles. “I’m sorry.”

“F-for what?” Y/N curses a bit at herself for stuttering but Steve seems to not notice. “I’m sorry that you have to see me like this.”

“Steve.” Y/N sighs and leans a bit in to rest her forehead carefully on his. “Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault.”

“Still.” His voice is still tired and a bit slurred, but he sounds steadier than before and Y/N knows that he gains his strength back. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“I’m rather here with you than stuck at home where I can’t help and no one will tell me anything to not worry me.” She looks up at Steve, and he must see something in her eyes, because he sighs and closes his eyes. “What did I do to deserve you?”

“I don’t know.” She smiles tiredly and looks at Steve for a while. She sees his frown and his grimace as he shifts a bit. It must really hurt. “Bucky will come soon. I know it.” Steve only hums and lets his eyes closed, so Y/N returns to her tasks and patches his face up. The moment she’s finished she gives him a small kiss on the forehead. Then she gets him to eat some of whatever it is that they got before she settles him back down. She cuddles close to him so that he can rest his head on her chest and brushes her fingers through his hair. “Y/N. You’re getting cold.” He’s silent again, almost asleep and Y/N only shakes her head. “I’ll be fine. Go to sleep.”

She doesn’t know when it happened and certainly not for how long, but she fell asleep shortly after Steve. They awake with a start as the heavy door to their cell gets ripped open. Someone rips Steve away from her. They don’t have enough time to really fight them due to their shock. They’re gone as fast as they entered and Y/N is left alone once again. Y/N does the things she did the last time. But time seems to go by slower than before. She doesn’t know how longs she’s alone this time, only that it’s definitely longer than the last time because she gets the next tray of foot all on her own. For a second she fears that Steve won’t come back to her cell at all but then, finally, the door opens and Steve gets thrown in. He’s held by two men and as they let go of him, he sways dangerously and falls to his knees. Y/N doesn’t wait this time. She rushes over to him and helps him to sit against her. She ignores the loud laughter of the men that leave her cell, only concentrates on Steve and his new injuries. He moans in pain and winces, not able to find a sitting position that actually doesn’t hurt that much. “Shh…” Y/N hums in his ear and runs her hand through his hair to soothe him. It helps to ground her, too, before she runs off worrying and fussing. “What do they do to you?” Y/N sighs with pain in her voice. She doesn’t expect an answer and continuous her motion through his hair. Steve closes his eyes and tries to relax as much as possible. “Don’t think ‘bout it. Please.” Steve’s voice is pained as well, but he grips her free hand and holds tightly on it. Y/N frowns but is silent for a moment before she asks, “What can I do for you?”

“Just… hold me.” Steve closes his eyes and Y/N presses a small kiss against his cheek, careful with the bruises from the first beating. They sit in silence and Y/N turns from stroking through his hair to stroking her thumb over his cheek while he tries to get as small as possible and cuddle close to her.

The door gets ripped open again and Y/N throws her arms protective over Steve’s body as the two men from before come back in. “No. Please! Let him rest!” They grip Steve’s arms, and he tries to struggle as much as he can but it’s to no use. “Please! Don’t touch him.” Y/N shouts but is ignored. The men act as if Steve’s the only one in the cell. “Don’t worry, Y/N!” Steve shouts back and all Y/N can hear is a pained grunt as someone punches into his stomach. “Nooo, Steve!” Y/N hammers against the door as it closes and shouts for the blonde. “Shit!” She shouts again, then she rests her forehead against the cold metal door. At this rate, Steve won’t make it.

She returns back into her corner, only this time she doesn’t take her eyes from the door. She has an uneasy feeling in her gut and somehow, she doesn’t want to let her guard down by looking away or closing her eyes. She doesn’t fight the tears though.

It’s actually not that long until she hears the click of the door. She narrows her eyes a little as it opens to reveal three man. They’re alone. No Steve. She takes in a stuttering breath and pushes back into her corner. The men, though, start laughing and come forward to her. She has no way of escape and she knows it. She’s grabbed by her arm and starts screaming but quickly finds out that it seems to encourage the people. They don’t talk in English so Y/N doesn’t understand what they are saying but it dawns her as the one man not holding her starts to rip her shirt away. “NO! Let go! Let me, please!” She screams further, getting frantic and tries to break free but to no avail. The men holding her pushes her don onto the ground, still having a tight grip on her as the other one pulls her pants away. “No, NO!” She screams and kicks as best as she can. She’s a little satisfied as she managed to kick him in the chest and makes him stumble back but her victory is short-lived. The man recovers and is suddenly beside her. His fist connects with her face, sending her head back and makes it hitting the ground hard. Everything is a bit sluggish, and she notices faintly what exactly is happening around her. She sees the camera out of her eyes, the third man holding it as she feels a sharp pinch in her neck. She has a second to see the syringe, to wonder what they are doing with the video, before she blacks out.

* * *

Steve feels dizzy, the world around him, more the several walls of the halls, tills a little as he gets dragged through them. They push past a door that Steve doesn’t recognize and pushed into the room. The room is larger than the one from before. Before, he was in a small room, no windows and no ´thing to hide behind. He had more than three guys with him who took turns on beating him up while his hands were still bound and Steve’s thought was that they have too much pent-up frustration in themselves and probably should have chosen another path of work than HYDRA. He had no other choice than to let them do what they wanted. Especially, when that meant that they will leave Y/N alone. The whole time they took him they showed no sign in what they actually wanted from him or her. It was as if the only took them to beat him up. The first beating wasn’t actually what let him shiver at the thought. The other times though where totally different. Thy chained him against a metal frame which send shocks of electrify through him while he let the beating go over him. Now, the room he’s in is large but mostly empty. There are a few lights illuminating it and some people running around casually. The pass the room through a door Steve hand noticed before and get into a smaller room. This one lets his blood freeze. The room in isn’t by much smaller than the one before but its dirty and dimly lit. He only needs to throw one look into it to know what HYDRA really wants with him. The chair isn’t to be missed and the selection of syringes, neither. Steve starts to struggle, to get away from the pain that will await him, but he stops and grunt in pain as another fist connects hard with his stomach. He sacks a bit and tries to get his blurry vision under control again. A chuckle lets him look up, and he sees another man stand in front of him. The man steps closer and lifts Steve’s head up by his chin, still grinning madly as he leans in a bit. “Good evening, Captain. What a pleasure for you to visit us so freely.” Steve wants to answer him with a snark, get him frustrated or angry, but he actually lacks the strength to do so. “I’m sure you already know what we want but I’m willing to tell you anyway.” The man smiles again and gives a hand wave to the two holding Steve. They move him further into the room and quickly strap him into the chair. He can’t put up much of a fight and the man in front of him smirks devilish. “So, you took our little toy. The Winter Soldier. And now we really could use a new one. Of course, it’s going to be you. It would be too much of a nuisance to get the real one back and the words in his head. Maybe he come on himself when he finds out what we did. What do you say?”

“Try me.” Steve bites out, not really up to fight much and not able to do so. He knows Bucky will blame himself and that he will come to get them. But his main focus now is on protection Y/N and getting her to a safe place. The longer he manages to distract them the longer she is safe and the others have more time to actually find them. The man draws a displeased expression but his smirk doesn’t vanish entirely. “I thought you would answer like that. That’s why we made some precautions. Video!”

The first screams fill the room and Steve’s had snaps up, his eyes lock on the screen. “Wha-” He stares shocked as Y/N gets pushed down and the shirt ripped off. The man laughs madly before he speaks. “You see. We thought it might encourage you to do what we want when you see your little girlfriend get a bit… handled.”

“No! Stop! Let her be!” Steve starts to struggle against his bonds but it’s to no use. The chair is made for Bucky’s metal arm after all. The man laughs as Y/N gets punched and the video stops. “They didn’t do much until now, but they’re only waiting for my command, so I give you a second chance and hope you use it wisely.” Steve feels the tears in his eyes and the pain in his heart. He nods numbly. “Just leave her alone.”

“Wonderful. As long as you do cooperate, she will get left alone.” The man claps his hands and all to soon does Steve get something shoved into his mouth and the pain starts. He can’t hear himself scream. The pain is intense, and he notices the edge of his vision go black. It feels like an eternity before it stoops and when it does, he has no energy to do something. He heaves heavy breaths and then gets dragged to the cell. The whole way is a blur, he loses some time between the chair and the cell and only come to himself when he falls to the ground in the cold room. He collects his sense before he looks up and sees Y/N lie on the ground, still cold out but thankfully still in her underwear. He uses the last of his energy to crawl the few feet over to her, roll onto his side and wrap her up into his arms “I’m so sorry.” He buries his face into her shoulder and cries. He cries for her pain.

It’s a while until he notices Y/N twitch and tighten her arms around him. “’S okay, Stevie.” Her voice is slurred, but she cuddles a little closer and shivers. They stay like this. Neither of them actually touches the food that’s brought in to them, instead they use the time they have to save for comforting the other. Until they come to get Steve again. It’s hours later and this time Steve barely tries to fight the men.

* * *

Y/N rushes to the doors as soon as they open. She catches Steve as soon as he stumbles in and wraps her arms protectively around him. She’s still in her underwear, her ripped clothes scattered around the room and shivers but Steve’s state is enough to warm her up with fury. She guides him into her corner. When she started to call it ‘her corner’ is beyond her horizon, but she doesn’t care much about it anyway. “Stevie?” She cups his cheeks and lift his head as he sluggishly looks at her. She studies his eyes and is relived at the flicker of recognition in them. “What are they doing to you?” Steve shakes his head lightly and pulls her in closer. He doesn’t say anything, but he’s stiff and tense. He hasn’t got new injuries through the last two time he got taken, so Y/N figures that he doesn’t get beaten up anymore. Which is good. “I’ve got you, okay?” She kisses his temple and wraps her arm more firmly around him as he nods again and hides his face in her shoulder.

Y/N is worried. That’s actually an understatement. Steve is more or less asleep for the last half an hour, if her sense of time is functioning. He’s twitching and moaning the whole time. She tried to soothe him more than once but it never actually does something, so she just stays at his side and strokes through his hair. Showing him that she’s here for him. She prays that tony will find them soon. She had enough time to inspect Steve closer while he sleeps and what she found isn’t making her less worried. He has small burns on his side of his head and Y/N has a feeling she knows exactly what they are doing to him. She traces the burns with her fingers and cries silently over the pain he must have endured, over the pain Buck had endured for centuries. She ignores the door that opens and the tray that gets shoved over. She has stopped counting how often they got one and with that how long, how many days, thy are in captivity. Just as the door closes again does, she gets up, gets the tray to Steve and slowly rouses him with soft touches. “Stevie. You need to wake up. Come on, sweetie.” It takes a bit longer for Steve to wake up than it usually does but Y/N can’t blame him. Each time he gets taken he gets weaker and more tired. They don’t have enough time to actually recharge their energy and sleep for a couple of hours.

Y/N helps Steve to sit up and shoves the tray over to him. “Y/N, no…” His voice is weak and hoarse. He makes a move to shove the food back to her, but she stops his hand. “Stevie. They don’t touch me; they don’t torture me. You need it. More than I do.” She looks stern into his eyes and Steve frowns at her. “Steve, please.” She cups his cheek and leans in until their foreheads connect. “I want you to be strong, to stay this through until Tony and Bucky come and get us. I need you to hold on.” Steve sighs and nods. He breaks one of the breads in a half and passes it to Y/N. She doesn’t argue. She knows it’s the most she can demand of him that he eats more than she does. He would never let her starve herself for his well-being.

After they finished, Y/N shoves the tray as close to the door as possible and cuddles back into Steve. “Sleep a little.”

“You, too, Y/N.” Steve tugs her closer and buries his nose into the crook of her shoulder. She sighs and cuddles closer. Now that she really comes to rest, she feels the cold floor on her skin, the damp air and the bone deep shivers that wrack her body. Steve seems to notice it, too, because he pulls her closer and groans a little as he pulls her on top of him.

They manage to sleep for a while until the door slams open again. Y/N gets ripped from Steve and the man growls, readying himself to fight them. “Let go! Let me!” She screams and struggles, tries to break free and to get away. Sharp pain lets her scream as she gets kicked into the knees from behind and pushed to the ground. “Let her be! You said you let her be!” Steve’s eyes are angry, furious even, and trained at a man that Y/N can’t see. But she hears his booming laugh. “I did. I just thought I encourage you once more. To really get sure.” The man snaps his fingers and suddenly ice-cold water gets emptied over Y/N’s head. She screams once at the cold shock and starts shivering instantly. “Stop it!” Steve’s voice is murderous and Y/n feels another shiver run through her. She never heard him like this. Her thoughts are cut short as a second bucket gets emptied over her. “Well. I think it’s enough. Captain. Follow me.”

“S-Steve?” Y/N looks up to see Steve’s conflicted eyes on her. “It will be alright, Y/N. I promise.” Then he’s gone. Two men stay with her. They talk to each other but Y/N can’t understand what they are saying. Then a third Bucket gets emptied over her, accompanied by evil laughing. She gasps for air and scrambles away from them, pressing herself again the wall that now seems actually warm. The door closes and she’s left alone. A whimper leaves her lips as she bursts out into tears. “Bucky… Where are you?”


	2. Found

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I take prompts here, on my twitter or on my disord :D
> 
> Twitter: https://twitter.com/Yuulina_vre  
> Discord: discord.gg/MYgmfSk

Bucky walks circles into the floor. He is frustrated with himself and worrying his bottom lip, giving himself a headache while thinking. Pepper sits on the couch, Lady next to her and both of them watch him with guarded eyes, ready to jump in action if needed. Y/N and Steve are gone for a little longer than three days now and to say that Bucky is worried is the understatement of the century. Bucky is way past worrying. He’s a nervous wreck, filled with guilt and rage. He’s not able to help. He’s furious and everybody knows it. Worry is clouding his mind and blocking every helpful thought from him, showing him only pictures of things that could have gone wrong and made Y/N and Steve die already. He knows that the chances from them to be alive is very high, but then… It’s been three days now after all.

The others don’t handle him with soft hand like they probably would, they know how easily he would snap and do something that he later will regret, so they handle him with pure honesty. Which doesn’t make it better, because that means that he always gets updates on the routes they follow and that lead them to nothing. “Bucky, you need to eat something.” Pepper reminds him carefully from the couch. Since his lovers, his family, is gone he hasn’t slept much. And neither have the others. But Bucky hasn’t eaten properly as well and Pepper has it taken as her duty to make him eat. That’s something she can do to help them. “James Buchanan Barnes! You’re going to eat this plate of noodles now or I’m going to shove it down your throat with the chopstick I know Nat hides in one of the drawers!” Bucky sighs and looks over at the plate in front of Pepper. He saunters over and flops down beside her. Lady sits up straight, whines and bumps her head against Bucky’s shoulder in comfort. “I know; girl.” He pats her head and kisses it before he takes the plate that Pepper practically shoves into his face. They are the only ones in the compound right now. Everyone else is out following leads, trying to find Y/N and Steve, which doesn’t sit well with Bucky. He should be out there, trying to find them, trying to get them home safe. On the other side, he knows he would be over emotional and switch into Winter soldier mode way too fast. He’s glad that at least Pepper stayed behind and takes care of him. Bucky knows that he’ not good at looking after himself in situations like this. Not that he had many opportunities to experience times like now.

Bucky has his plate almost finished after noticing how hungry he actually is as the doors fly open. Lady jumps up and growls a little but sits down again as she notices Tony with Bruce and Nat running in. “We found them!” Bucky’s had snaps up, and he almost has the plate landing on his lap in shock, but Pepper catches it and safes him from burning hot noodles. “What?” His voice is silent, weary and disbelieving. He heard the exact word over the three past days a couple of times, and they were never the truth. “We found them!” Bucky stands up but falls to the ground right away with tears in his eyes. Lady jumps to action seeing and feeling his distress and licks his face with little whines. His arms snag around her, and he buries his face into her fur. Pepper kneels down and wraps her arms around him, trying to comfort him. “How sure are you this time?” She looks at Bucky before she speaks up for him. “One hundred percent! FRIDAY found a lead and Peter took Sam and Clint. They saw the guards. The building Is filled with agents.”

“D-did they see…” Bucky trails off, too afraid to hear his request denied. “Yes, Redwing gave pictures of Steve.” Bucky’s head shoots up, and he stays in an instant. “I come with you.”

“Wha- No! We agreed that you-”

“Tony.” Natasha places a hand on the engineer’s shoulder. Tony looks at her. His expression shows that he’s not really pleased with this interruption. “Let him come. You would want that too. He was long enough benched. And who knows. We might need him there. And he will follow us anyway.” Nat doesn’t look at Tony but at Bucky the whole time. “Fine, BUT you will stay behind us. No rushing in, no actions on your own. You need to listen to us. Can’t have you lose your nerves.” Bucky nods and vibrates with energy. They found them! He’s getting them home!

The way to the jet is a blur. Bucky finds himself strapped into his seat with no memory of getting there, of getting dressed and getting his weapons. Lady sits beside him. She never came to missions but her presence is calming and maybe the only thing that stops him from freaking out or having a mental breakdown. The flight is a nervous silence. Lady stays close to him, always noticing when the spiral of his thoughts gets to deep. She will nudge him with her nose, whine or lick hi hand in comfort, and he will come out of his thoughts and rub her ear.

The moment the jets sets down everything is on autopilot again. Lady stays at the jet while Peter and Tony take down what’s outside the building still stands, Wanda, Vision and Sam go to the backside and do their job there. Bucky is shoved to Clint, Nat and Bruce, covering the front inside. It’s like a storm inside, they take out what just breathes and crosses their way until Bucky freezes suddenly. Screams. He hears them, and they’re not only any screams. They’re frantic, hurt and filled with fear. They’re Y/N’s! “Y/N…” Bucky breathes her name But Nat has seen him stop fighting. She runs up to him and places a hand on his shoulder. “Focus on the task, Barnes.” She looks him deep in the eyes. “Clint, Hulk! We follow the screams. Finish up and come after us.” They run through the halls, taking out agent after agent until they each a door. The screams are loud, clearly coming from this room and Bucky is afraid of what he might witness, what he might see. Still, he breaks the door open and then… freezes. The others run past him and take down what’s moving but Bucky’s eyes are fixed on the limp figure. The limp blonde man that’s lying on the chair. The very one Bucky never thought, always hoped to never see again. “Stevie…” He walks to him, slowly, afraid they might come too late, afraid he’s already dead. The screams still fill the air but Bucky has noticed the screen already were a video is played. Y/N lying on the ground, screaming and trying to fight the three agents that strip her almost naked before the tape starts again. “Stevie? Hey.” Bucky takes one of his hand in his. It’s cold but not cold enough. He looks in Steve’s face. The man is pales, drenched in sweat but alive. “Stevie. It’s me, Bucky. I get you home.” He pats Steve’s cheek lightly and is flooded with relive as the man stirs and his eyes flutter open groggily. “B-Buck?”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s me.” He leans forward and kisses Steve’s forehead, feeling the tears that dare to fall from his eyes. “Daddy…” Steve whimpers and Bucky freezes before he relaxes again, hoping that the others take care of everyone that could witness Steve dropping. “Yeah, baby boy, come to me, shh.” Bucky helps Steve sit up and presses him closely to his chest, hugging him and kissing his temple. Steve whimpers a few times and starts dropping in Bucky’s arms. He holds him tightly and whispers how proud he is of him; how good he did and how brave he was. Nat comes up behind him, having stood guard around him. Steve still whimpers, now fully dropped. “M’my…” He breathes before he goes limp. “Steve? Stevie?” Bucky’s mind is filled with panic at his unconscious child in his arms. He wants to shake him, to slap him, for him to wake up. Nat intervenes before he can do any of that. “Bucky. JAMES!” Bucky’s head snaps into her direction, and she opens her arms. “Give him to me.”

“I-I…”

“Come on. You need to get to Tony. He found Y/N. He needs your help. I get Steve to the jet.” Bucky passes him over, reluctant, and kisses his head a last time. “Where is he?”

“I’ll take you.” Clint steps up beside him and motions for Bucky to follow him. Through the comes he can hear tony talk to them, and he briefly wonders how he hasn’t noticed earlier that the com is filled with all the voices. For him it was dead silent while he was with Steve. It should worry him a bit, and he figures that it actually does, but he has no time to really think about it now. He has to find Y/N!

They meet Peter halfway through their run and follow him to where Tony is, surprised by finding Rhodey as well. Bucky hasn’t noticed that he was at the facility as well. Tony breaks the door the moment Bucky stops running and Bucky instantly rushes inside. He falls to his knees beside Y/N. She’s unconscious on the ground, so he scoops her up and gasps. “Oh my god. Fuck!”

“What? Barnes?”

“She’s ice-cold! Get her to the jet, Please!” Tony nods and takes her before the flies off. Bucky stays on the ground looking around a little. Y/N’s clothes are lying still around, torn to little pieces. The ground is wet with ice-cold water. Rage fills his body and heats him up. He wants to take this place apart, to take everything down. He stands up, turns around with fury in his eyes and suddenly he’s calm. He notices peter shiver but ignores it. He walks past Rhodey, Clint and Peter, down the hall. He takes out who’s still standing or crawling, showing no mercy. He walks until he stands in front of a man. He has never seen him before and it doesn’t bother him much. He knows that this man must be the one who hurt Stevie so bad, who tortured Y/N with watching and threats. No one interrupts Bucky as he stares at the man and the man stares back. Clint even goes so far and ushers the others out, telling them they don’t want to see what might be about to happen. Bucky’s posture is like that of an animal, ready to rip its prey to pieces. He notices the fear that crosses the man's face. That’s his own death move, Bucky thinks as he rushes forward.

Back in the jet no one questions what he might have done. Bruce passes Bucky and hands him the child, wrapped up in a blanket and pacifier in mouth. Bucky presses him to his chest and kisses him a few times before he sits down next to Y/N’s stretcher. Lady is already at Y/N’s feet, laying on them to warm them up. She is wrapped in several blankets, machines connected to her to observe her vitals and a breathing mask to help her. He takes one of her hands and doesn’t let go. Not once.

* * *

Bucky lies Steve down on the couch and kisses his forehead. Lady jumps up and cuddles close to the small boy. Steve had woken up in the jet, crying and confused. He clung to Bucky as his only safe point and Bucky felt lost. He couldn’t tell the child that everything is okay, that he’s fine. Because it’s not, he is not. He only could tell him that he’s safe now and that he will stay by his side. But it didn’t feel like enough. Now he’s asleep and Bucky finally had the courage to lie him down. He himself has the need to hold him close, to feel his skin, his breathing, to know that he’s real, safe and home. Y/N is home too but still unconscious. Dr. Cho took her right away from the jet and since Bucky can’t help down in the med bay, he’s up her, left to worry. Cho told him that Y/N has a light case of hypothermia, and she fears that she caught pneumonia. Bucky waits now for FRIDAY to tell him that Y/N finally woke up.

He sighs and gives Steve another kiss, covers him with a blanket and retreats into the kitchen. He takes out the bread and some butter and cheese. He’s not worried about Stevie being alone because he’s not. Tony, Nat and Pepper are in the room as well, quietly talking. He sinks a little into his own thoughts but is promptly ripped out of them by loud and frantic crying. He lets the knife fall to the ground and runs back into the main room. Tony has Steve already in his arms. He rocks him slightly and talks quietly to him. Bucky can’t really understand what he says, his own blood rushing too loud in his ears, but whatever it is it calms Stevie down a little. The boy snuggles sniffling into Tony’s shoulder but the moment he sees Bucky he stretches his little arms out and starts whining and wiggling. Bucky takes him from Tony and presses Steve tight to his chest. The little boy makes a noise, similar to a content sigh and snuggles back into him, fists tightly grabbing Bucky’s shirt. Bucky walks back over to the couch and sits down. Lady snuggles closer too and starts sniffing on Steve to make sure that the little human is all good now. Then she throws a look at Bucky as if she wants to say ‘Take better care of him or I’ll rip you apart’. “Yeah, yeah, girl. I know.” Bucky pats her and is pleased as she stops her glaring and lies back down, head on his thigh. Suddenly Bucky feels a little overwhelmed with emotion. He buries his face into Steve’s hair and lets a few stray tears escape. “I’m sorry, Stevie. I’m so, so sorry. I’m sorry that you had the chair. I’m sorry that I wasn’t fast enough.”

“Daddy?” Steve pats Bucky’s shoulder and then his cheek until the man actually looks at the little blonde. “Why are you sorry?”

“Because I couldn’t get you sooner.”

“But you have me, now.” Steve smiles brightly, earlier distress obviously forgotten. “Bucky stares for a moment, ignoring Natasha’s lingering look and her standing up and leaving. Then he lets out a deep breath and nods. “Yeah.” He hugs Steve close again and kisses his temple once more. It takes a few minutes until the doors open again. Bucky doesn’t look up, just as a bear is shoved into his face. Then he looks up. Natasha smiles kindly at him as she passes him his Bucky bear and his captain America bear. Wanda is now here, too, she passes Steve his sheep and surprisingly Y/N’s elephant. The little boy takes them happily and even reaches for the pacifier Wanda has in her hand. No one says something as the woman retreat to the other couch. Bucky continues staring at his bears for a moment before a little smile slips his lips, and he passes them to Steve who takes them happily as well, even when all the stuffed animals don’t fit in his small arms. Bucky lets himself be comforted by Steve playing on his lap and pepper bringing him his sandwich which he had long forgotten about. He eats and watches Steve rhythmically bob his pacifier and playing until FRIDAY speaks up. “Sergeant. Dr. Cho says that Y/N is awake now. You can visit her.”

“Ah… ok. Thank you.” Bucky stays seated and looks at Steve a few moments longer before he stands up and crouches down next to the three-year-old. “Do you want to visit mommy with me?”

“Mommy? Yes!” Steve jumps up and takes Bucky’s hand. He pulls and Bucky nearly fall onto his face. “Come daddy, Hurry!”

“I’m coming. Do you want to take Elli with you? Mommy will be certainly be happy.”

“Yes!” Steve lets go of his hand, rushes to the toys and grabs the elephant. He is about to turn around but then bends down again and picks up his sheep. He sets Bucky’s bears up and close together, mumbling about hem being nice and play together before he rushes back to Bucky and takes his hand, letting him lead them all the way to the med bay.

* * *

A knock on the door lets her look up. “Yes?” The door opens and a little blonde head peek in. “Mommy!” Steve runs in fully and climbs on the bed. “Steve…” Y/N sighs and feels tears in her eyes. “Mommy. Don’t cry.” Steve’s little hand comes up and pats her cheek. She smiles lightly at him and kisses his forehead. “How are you?”

“Good.” Steve looks at her with confusion. “That’s good.” Her hand runs through his hair. “Look, mommy! Daddy and I got Elli for you.” The little stuffed elephant gets roughly pushed into her face, and she laughs a little at his action. But her laugh shoves her right into a coughing fit that leaves her breathless. A cold hand comes to her back and rubs soothing circles in it. She looks up with watering eyes, right into Bucky’s grey ones. “Hey, doll. How are you feeling?”

“B-Bucky.” She smiles at him and motions for him to sit beside her. He reaches for the nightstand, taking the glass of water and gives it to her before he sits down, pulling Steve into his side so Y/N can drink properly. She takes a few sips before she puts the glass back down. “I’m good.” The look the brunette sends her shows her that he’s not believing what he tells. A sigh leaves her lips and she nods. “It’s just a little cough Bucky. Nothing to worry about.” Bucky nods but doesn’t look at her. “Bucky.” She takes his metal hand in hers and runs her thumb lightly over his knuckles. “It’s about more than the cough, isn’t it?” For a moment Bucky is silent. “FRIDAY. Can you get Nat down here?” They sit in silence until the red head peeks in. They have a little small talk, Nat being glad that Y/N is fine and Y/N thanking her. Then Bucky asks Nat to get Steve out for a while. She does but Steve doesn’t go without a fight. He cries and screams until Nat crouches down and whispers a while into his ear. Still under tears he nods and lets her finally lead him outside, leaving Bucky and Y/N in silence again. Y/N musters him for a moment, then she takes his hand. “Bucky, sweetie.” She uses the nickname she always uses when little Bucky is in distress, and she knows that it actually helps with big Bucky, too. “What is it?”

“I- You-” He sighs and rubs a hand over his face before he slumps a little. “I saw the video.” Y/N is a little confused. “Which video?”

“T-The one where… They- stripped you down. They…” Realization hits Y/N, and she sits up straight, getting herself in a coughing fit and Bucky sitting up straight in concern. “N-No, Bucky.” She takes a few deep breathes before she cups his face. “T-They didn’t do anything. They only stripped me. Nothing happened.”

“But You were screaming… They…”

“Bucky. They did it to pressure Steve. By then I knew what they did to him. You saw the bruises? They beat him up every few hours before they took him to the chair. Me? I was just there, so they have something against him, something that makes him do what they want.” Her thumb strokes lightly over his cheek as a few tears slip down. “I’m good. No one did anything.”

“They made you sick.” It’s a weak attempt on Bucky’s side to disagree with her but Y/N knows that he needs a reason to be angry, to be worried, to let his emotions flow. So, she agrees. “Yeah. But it will pass and I’ll be fine. We should worry more about Stevie. It will be not… We have to take good care of him when he’s big again.” Bucky nods and takes her hands in his, kisses her knuckles and leans his forehead against her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Y/N.” His voice is soft and silent, Y/N nearly had missed it. “Why are you sorry, Buck?” She loses one hand from his grip and runs it through his loose hair. She feels more droplets fall to her hospital gown. “Come here. Lie down with me, yeah?” She shuffles a little to the side, pulling Bucky with her. He settles down beside her, eyes red and tears still falling, resting his head on her chest. She continues to run her hand through his hair. “Bucky, what are you sorry about? You did what you could. You found us.”

“I wasn’t fast enough.”

“No. You were. You were, Bucky. Stevie wouldn’t be Stevie if you weren’t there when you were. And I? I would be probably dead by now. You did everything right.” She kisses his cheeks and rubs his back. “Stop blaming yourself, Buck.”

“How can you still comfort me when I should be comforting you?” He looks up at her with red eyes. “That’s one of my perks.” She smiles at him and giggles, then leans in and kisses him. They only break apart as the door opens and Dr. Cho enters. Bucky stays on the bed though and rubs Y/N’s beck as she’s thrown into another coughing fit. “Y/N. I see. You have a cough. Let me?” She gestures to Y/N’s chest, and she nods. Cho hears at her chest and back, humming pleased. She examines her a for a moment, then she nods. “So, I think you develop a hopefully light case of bronchitis and a mild fever. You should stay her for today but If your better tomorrow morning you’re free to go back to your own bed. You’re lucky that you didn’t catch pneumonia.” Y/N nods and tries desperately to ignore Bucky’s shocked expression. He’s still staring as Helen leaves again. “Stop staring and lie down with me.” She giggles and clears his throat before she pulls him back into her embrace. “Bucky. How much have you slept the past few days?”

“None at all.”

“Bucky!” Y/N almost sits up but Bucky pushes her back down. “It’s okay. I’ll go to sleep tonight.”

“No! No, you won’t. You will go to sleep right now. No arguing!”

“But-”

“No arguing, young man!” Bucky sighs but settles into a comfortable position, covers them both with a blanket and grumbles something about being a man not a child while Y/N runs her hand through his hair with a little giggle.

By the time Steve and Nat come back Bucky is fast asleep and lightly snoring. The boy scrambles onto the bed and cuddles up to Y/N. “Hey, baby. What did you do with aunt Nat?”

“We ate popsicles. Lots of popsicles!”

“Really?” Y/N chuckles at Steve’s excitement and winks at Nat as she leaves them be. “Yeah! And Aunt Nat promised we eat some tonight at dinner.” He nods energetically before his gaze wanders to Bucky. His expression turns a little sad then. “Mommy? Did daddy cry again?”

“Again?”

“Yes. He cried while I played too. Why is daddy so sad?”

“Well, daddy is very happy that we both are home. But he wishes he had found us sooner.”

“Why? What happened?” Y/N realizes that no one bothered to tell Steve what really had happened. “Stevie. When you were big, we both got taken away by bad men for a few days. Daddy and your uncles and aunts did everything to find us. But it took time so you and I got hurt while we had to wait. Daddy is sad because he hoped he would find us sooner. He’s sorry for what happened to us.”

“But daddy found us.” Y/N smiles at Steve’s little frown. “Yes, he did.”

“Daddy is a hero! Heroes don’t cry, mommy.”

“Oh, but they do. Remember Stevie. Heroes are humans as well. They cry, they laugh they feel guilty and happy. Daddy is just like we.”

“I don’t like daddy cry.” Steve snuggles close to Y/N, pressing the stuffed toys from Y/N’s lap against his chest. “I don’t like it, too.” She kisses Steve’s head and pulls the blanket from under the little boy, maneuvers him on top of her and covers him. Then she kisses him again and hopes they both will fall asleep without interruption.

It took weeks before Y/N was able to run for a longer time without needing to stop because of her coughing. She didn’t really mind having this cough. She was actually glad because it was the only thing, she seemed to have taken with her form her kidnapping. Steve on the other hand, wasn’t so lucky. Three days after Y/N was allowed to go home he dropped again. Y/N had never seen him cry so much. She has never seen him flinch by the sound of the microwave. Bucky and she agreed to do everything to make him feel better again. The nightmares got less frequent and even Bucky’s horrible ones, where he dreams that he wasn’t fast enough and both of them died, got less frequent.

After almost a month she tells Tony that the only good thing that came out of all this mass was, that Bucky and Steve understood each other better and that, now, the three of them got even closer than before.


End file.
